Easy DIY Mason Jar Cupcakes Recipe

Today’s Holiday Bake, Craft, Sew Along features simple and delicious Mason Jar Cupcakes! Today’s guest poster is kelly & she blogs at according to kelly.

red velvet cupcakes. smothered in classic cream cheesy frosting.

all i know, the holidays never tasted so good.

making mason jar cupcakes is seriously just about the easiest thing in the world. really & truly, it takes just a few simple steps… bake up a batch of your favorite cupcakes (whether it’s from a box or made from scratch), then you smoosh, frost & repeat. see i told you it was easy-peasey. but just in case you need a wee bit more direction, i’ve whipped up a little tutorial for you.

step one: as i said before, the first step is to whip up a batch of your favorite cupcakers. honestly, everything tastes better when eaten from a jar, with a spoon. people have raved about my straight from the box fun-fetti cupcakes (okay, so maybe i throw in an extra box of pudding) & begged for my red velvet recipe (they usually fall in love with the mini chocoloate chips which gives it an extra little umph!)… but really & truly neither of these recipes are all that special. but, when you are eating from a jar, with a spoon…. ahhhh! it’s like holding a little bit of heaven in your hands.

step two: throw away what you know about baking cupcakes, at least for the moment. when you’re making mason jar cupcakes no fancy-pants cupcake liners are needed for this job. so break out the pam, & apply liberally. go ahead – spary the dickens out of the pan, you definitely don’t want your cupcakes sticking. plus, you need the cupcake “sides” looking good & ready for their closeup. considering all you really see of the cupcake is their sides, you want those babies smooth & looking good!

step three: filling the cupcake pan has never been my forte! i always struggled trying scoop the batter into those itty bitty holes, without spilling batter everywhere. luckily one day it finally occurred to me to cheat. these days i use a makeshift pastry bag (a ziplock bag with about a 1/2 inch of the corner snipped off) to fill my cupcake pans quickly, cleanly & with an incredible amount of precision. & since filling my makeshift pastry bag can get complicated with just two hands, i like to put my water pitcher to work “holding open” the bag as i fill it.

step four: fill your cupcake pan according to your recipe (usually about 2/3 full), & then bake. this is my favorite part. i love the smell of baking cupcakes wafting through the house.

step five: now the fun begins. first select your mason jar of choice. personally i like the 8 oz. jars, because they fit two cupcakes absolutely perfectly. (although the 4 oz. jars are darling with a single cupcake, & the 12 oz. can fit three cupcakes… so really it’s up to you.) next, you place your cupcake on top of your chosen jar & smoosh it all the way to the bottom. you don’t have to worry about man handling the top of the cupcake too much, because it will soon be covered in frosting.

step six: if you haven’t already, whip your frosting (whip it real good). or, if you’ve chosen the slightly quicker, but probably just as tasty route, scoop your frosting from the can. (if you want to embrace the holidays, even more – simply use green food coloring to make your frosting christmas green.)

& just like before, once again i am going to use the “ziplock cheater” method. seriously, if you’ve never tried it, promise you will – soon! it will literally change the way you feel about making cupcakes.

step seven: time to frost! using a ziplock bag or a real pastry bag (trust me, you’ll want to use one or the other to get down near the bottom of the mason jar) & top the cupcake with frosting. i like a lot of frosting, so i usually do about a 1/2 inch worth – but do what ever you are comfortable with. & again, you don’t have to worry too much about how “pretty” it looks, because you are going to to be smooshing another cupcake on top of it.

step eight: REPEAT. that’s right, this is where you get to smoosh & frost again. when you’re frosting this final time though, try not to go too over the top. remember, you still have seal it all up, & “over the top” frosting is just going to get squeezed out. so, try to keep your frosting as level with the rim of the jar, as possible. & when you are all done… seal it up baby!

step nine: once you’ve put your lid on & you are all sealed up, it’ time to pretty up the jar. using some ribbon, or a scrap of fabric, tie a square knot. (you remember how…. right over left, left over right.)

& if you want to make your cupcakers in a jar really fancy – download perfectly sized, blank mason jar labels HERE, then cut out with a sharp pair of scissores, or a 2-inch circle punch. & fyi… these labels make great gift tags.

see. just like i told you… making mason jar cupcakes are so quick, easy & definitely addicting. not to mention, your cupcakes will taste so delicious & moist – just like heaven in a jar. yum! yum! yum!

Reader Interactions

Comments

These are so cute and I think I’ll do some for Christmas dessert this year. Quick question about the jars (the links are dead above) I think you’re using the wide mouth jars, is that correct? Thanks for sharing.

This cupcake in a Mason Jar idea is like the best thing ever! It’s sooo cute! I’m gonna make these in the summer! I can’t wait! Also, I love how you said, “You definitely don’t want your cupcakes sticking”! It was so cute. It made me giggle. 🙂 Hehe I’m not from the south, but I’ll definitely come back and check out all of the awesome recipes on this site!

Dear kelly, love the cupcakes in a jar. I would love to do these for our annual bake sale. I was wondering what would be a fair price to charge for these little lovelys.. also I was wondering about this being a glass product. Do you know if anyone makes something like mason jar shapes in plastic? Thanks for any info you can provide……Willette

how long will cupcakes in a jar, already assembled, stay good if frozen? I am thinking about giving some as a holiday gift to a single person. You only want so many cupcakes at a time to eat before you get tired of them. If they are frozen they could get one out at a time when looking for a sweet dessert for one.

I can’t imagine these would last 3 months on the shelf – you could freeze the cakes and then frost when ready, but I wouldn’t recommend leaving them on the shelf for 3 months. I have asked the author of this guest post for some clarification for y’all.